Between the Lines
by zashikabuta06
Summary: My first attempt at Achele/Faberry as the main couple. Heya/Brittana in the background. Inspired by the song, "Between the Lines" by the awesome Sara Bareilles. From Dianna's POV.
1. Chapter 1

**Between the Lines**

_A/N: This is my first attempt at writing Achele/Faberry. It is very different for me than writing Heya/Brittana, but I was inspired by the song, "Between the Lines" by the amazingly awesome Sara Bareilles. The lyrics of the song struck such a chord with me; I think that everyone can relate to this song. I was caught off guard that the first person I thought of for this story was Quinn/Dianna. So, here it goes. I highly suggest you look up this song on Spotify or YouTube to get a sense of where this story will lead. I tend to write close to reality, in terms of both the characters as well as the actors. I hope that you will entertain this foray into something new and exciting for me. _

_Disclaimer: I have absolutely no association with the TV show Glee, nor Dianna Agron and Lea Michele, unfortunately. All these words are mine and mine alone._

_Rating: PG-13, for now, maybe?_

I sat on the window sill, watching the rain fall down in Los Angeles. It's a funny thing, actually- observing how Angelenos react to the rain. It's as if the rain turns on some switch and utter chaos ensues. The weather people act as if the rain is this major weather phenomenon. The newscasters issue their warnings of possible delays and accidents due to the trickle of water from the sky above. However, I guess these things are rare in sunny Southern California. There was a song written about it I think. Oh yes; "It never rains in Southern California..." Well, I guess if you are not used to dealing with rain, then it would be strange. However, I always sought the solace that rain would bring. Maybe it was because I did not grow up here; the rain always made me remember home. It brought me moments of introspection, where I could sit for awhile and just be. Considering how chaotic my life had become, I needed this day.

I took a sip from my steaming mug of chamomille tea and adjusted the afghan around my feet. I closed my eyes and just breathed in the moment. As surely as I the heard the rain pelt the window, a memory of us came rushing back to me. I could feel my body tense up and whince in physical pain. It was as if this defense mechanism could stop this impending memory from washing over me. It hurt to remember. I breathed through it, feeling my heartbeat slow down. I wanted to remember because it was all i had left. I knew I could take the pain, because this hurt also brought me the warmth and comfort I yearned for. It made me remember that what we had was real, if ever for a brief, fleeting moment.

We where right here, where I now sit alone. It was a cozy, rainy night in L.A. and we were reading our scripts, running lines. You sat at the other end, so our legs where tangled underneath the afghan. Our toes touched briefly and we both looked up and smiled at each other, before you started to speak your dialogue again.

I don't even remember which scene it was, but I do remember you stopping in mid-sentence to vent.

Babe, I hate that Ryan keeps cutting out all of the scenes that Brad writes for us. I mean, does he not get it?! He is gay after all, she exclaims, exasperated.

Lea, you know that I agree with you. I guess that Ryan thinks the quota of lesbians is filled by Santana and Brittany.

Well, Brittany isn't even gay! I think. Maybe she's bisexual? I am going to call Hemo up right now and ask her what she thinks Britt is. I mean she should know, after all.

Hush, babygirl. Do you realize what time it is? I bet her and Nay are sound asleep.

I saw her grab her iPhone, unlock it, then frown.

Well, I will just have to ask her in the morning. This is important, Di.

I know, babe, I know. The first scene for tomorrow is Unholy Trinity, so you will get to ask her then, k?

With that, Lea turned back to her script, playing footies with me underneath the stealth warmth of my blanket.

Lea's enthusiam always excited me. Her drive for perfection; her ambition to be the best. She really did have a lot of Rachel Berry's qualities. And I guess, I do have some of Quinn's personality traits, as well. But, this whole "ship" of some underlying, unspoken thing between Queen Bee Quinn Fabray and Star-in-the-making Rachel Berry caught all of us off guard.

In hindsight, I can see what the fans saw. I can see it now. But, in the moment, we were in our own, little Glee bubble. Cranking out these episodes in relative anonimity, wondering if anyone would care about a TV show centered around misfits in a showchoir. Flash forward to a year later. I am sitting here with Lea, my lover, running lines on the surprise smash of the season. I understood where this passion was coming from because I felt it, too. She was so protective of them because she felt that, albeit short-sighted, they where a reflection of us. Well, I guess I cannot blame her. It was what brought us together, where we are at this very moment. Just as Brittana had brought Heather and Naya together.

I looked up and saw her nodding off. I entangled our limbs slowly and got up from the window seat. I took that strand of hair that always fell in front of her face and tucked it behind her ear.

Baby...

Hmmm.

Come on. Let's get to bed. We both have early call times.

But, we need to get this scene right.

We will but we need to get some sleep too.

You are always, right, aren't you, Dianna.

Not always, but, yes, most of the time.

She gave me that genuine smile that melted my heart.

With that, she leaned in and gave a sweet, gentle kiss.

I kissed her back, matching the gentleness I had received. I took her hand and let her to my bed. We slept in a peaceful bliss, until Lea's iPhone awoke us 5 hours later.


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: I want to thank all of you who have taken the time to read, comment, favorite, and follow this story. You have inspired me to write this next chapter so quickly. I am still fleshing out the direction of this story, so any constructive comments are welcome. As I stated before, this is my first time writing an Achele/Faberry piece. I am most comfortable writing HeYa/Brittana. I am finding this venture exciting because it has required me to re-examine the episodes from their P.O.V. I can see the dynamic much more clearly and I cannot wait to incorporate the Glee-verse with Achele reality. The other thing I am excited about is looking at the Quinntana/Riveragron friendship. My heart lies with Brittana/HeYa, so of course, they will be in this story, just not the central couple. I am juggling another story right now, Addicted, which is HeYa/Brittana-centric. However, I tend to get inspiration in bursts and this one has certainly sparked my interest. Okay, enough of my incessant chatter. I give you Chapter 2. Suggested music: "Unpretty/I Feel Pretty" Faberry duet from the "Born This Way" __episode _

**Between the Lines, Chapter 2**

I felt a buzzing next to me that shook me out of my reverie. I looked down at my iPhone and smiled with the picture on my screen. This particular picture of my best friend made me laugh, no matter how many times I see it. It was taken during tour, when we were all goofing off, backstage. Naya is dressed half herself and half Santana in the picture. We were in middle of a quick change and I snapped the candid of her with a high ponie, Cheerios skirt, and white tennies on her feet. The thing that made her Naya, though was that long-sleeved weathered charcoal grey t-short she also wore, but that was Hemo's really. At the time only I knew that, besides Heather, of course. She was about to take it off and put on the matching WMHS top that would complete the Cheerio look. For some unknown reason, she looked directly at me and flashed those ridiculous eyelashes and pursed her lips at me and I captured the moment. It was Naya being Naya: flirty, silly, sexy, and fun. And it made me happy whenever I saw it.

Veiled Fairy...

Lady Di...

So, what do I owe this pleasure, I tease Naya.

Ohh, well, Heather and I are going to watch Clueless for the millionth time and were wondering if you wanted to join us. We picked up Chinese from our usual spot and already ordered for you.

That's right D, Get that pretty, white ass of yours over here, pronto! Hemo screams in the background.

Dianna can't help but laugh at her friends for being so sweet. She understands why they are calling to invite her. Naya knows her a little too well- that this rain would draw out the melancholy and sadness that she had been hiding since their break-up. To the rest of the cast, everyone thought she was doing okay, as difficult as it was. But Naya, and by extension, Heather, knew differently.

Well, I was actually just about to...

Naya cut me off- About to what, Dianna? Go get another mug of chamomile tea? To sit on there on your window seat, watch the raindrops fall, and reminisce?

I could hear the tone of her voice, so full of love and concern. But, fuck. She was spot on. I could never really lie to her because she always called me out on it.

Ummm, well...

Yeah, that's what I thought.

How did you...

Because I can see you, dumbass.

I look down and sure enough, I see Naya's Range Rover outside of my house.

I sigh in defeat. You will be to death of me, Naya Marie Rivera, I swear.

Yeah, well Miss Agron, you will be the death of me, too. Now, put on those plaid Wellies you keep by your door, throw on your raincoat and get down here. Heath is about to sing another god awful Ke$ha song and need you to rescue me.

I can hear Heather protest in the background as I get up from my window seat.

Okay, okay, Nay. Don't get your thongs in a bunch. I'll be down in 5.

With that, she hangs up the phone. I know that Naya is nodding in satisfaction; Round 1 goes to The Veiled Fairy.

As I donned my raincoat, I saw Arthur looking at me with sad eyes. My constant companion, through thick and thin. I couldn't just leave him alone in an empty house. I scooped him up and tucked him inside the crook of my arm. We walked out of the house, just in time for Nay to roll down the window.

Come on, Fabray. I wants to get my food on. She gave me a warm smile as Santana emerged.

I guess that it was to be expected. All of us could relate to the characters we portrayed. We were the ones who breathed life onto the words on the page. They were natural extensions of ourselves. I always knew Nay-nay was in a good mood whenever she would call any of is out by our screen name. I needed this. I'm glad that I did have a friend who knew me better than I knew myself.

Chill Snix, I said as entered the car and revealed the stowaway.

Much to their delight, they squealed at the sight of him.

Now Lucy and Arthur can have a playdate, while their mommies have a play date! Hemo exclaimed.

The ride over to Naya's was filled with singing and laughing. These two were just perfect together. I saw them banter back and forth from the backseat and saw what was unspoken. They had developed a language that was all their own- where looks and touches and feelings were conveyed without uttering a single word. It wasn't that long ago, when I believed that Lea and I were perfect together. We had developed our own secret language, too. I knew that when Lea would tap my left hand 3 times, that was her signal that she was ready to leave whatever public event we where at. She knew that when I held her gaze for a bit longer than necessary, that meant that I craved her. It took time to create these gestures: it required intimacy and trust.

My babydoll made me believe in the abstract notion of soulmates. Lea always said I was her missing puzzle piece. Before her, I held a pragmatic view of the universe and the way things worked. I did believe in love and in concept of falling in love. However, the idea of that there was one person out there that completed another, a yin to someone' yang, was not a thought I had subscribed to. I am sure that it was the feminist and the independent streak in me that colored my view. I refused to be defined by the dependency of a relationship or that I needed another person to complete me. The line from Jerry Maguire, "You complete me." made most women swoon. I, on the another hand, thought that it was a crock of shit. I wanted to maintain my own, separate identity, in conjunction with the separate identity of whomever I fell in love with. Apparently, all it took was a tiny firecracker Jewish-Italian beauty to throw my esteemed beliefs by the wayside, on the way to us falling in love.

All I had to do was look at Naya and Heather together and I felt my world was crumbling around me. I was buried alive in the rubble of our broken love. There was nothing I could do to change our circumstances and perhaps, that was the most difficult part of it all. I have always lived my life with intention. I would rather lay it all down on the line- to be "all in" so to speak, than to live a life full of regrets and the what-ifs. So, I knew that with Lea, I had done just that. I gave her all of me and it was not enough. The knowledge of that was what kept me awake at night. Were we doomed from the start? After all the things she taught me about love, I could feel my mind starting to revert back to my previous beliefs. Maybe she was wrong and I was right- there is no such thing as soulmates.

Just then, "Unpretty" came on the radio. As soon as it began, Naya changed the station, desperately trying to act nonchalant about the song. Brittana had their fair share of songs: "Landslide," "Songbird," "Mine." Faberry had this one: "Unpretty/I Feel Pretty." I heard Naya curse underneath her breath, "Fuck" and saw Heather's hand come to rest on top of Nay-nay's and give it a comforting squeeze. We all knew the gravity that song held for Lea and I. I saw Naya glance in the rear-view mirror at me- to gauge my reaction to the song. It was too late- those opening chords were all I needed to be thrust back to the day we performed our duet.


	3. Chapter 3

_**A/N:** Hey everybody! I apologize for taking so long to update. I have been super crazy busy with work and the holiday season. Also, to be frank, I have been working on this chapter for quite awhile. It has been challenging for me to get into the mindset of Dianna/Quinn/Lea/Rachel since I am so used to being in Naya/Santana/HeHo/Brittany's mind. Plus, I didn't want to disappoint y'all either. All things considered, I give you this short chapter. I have been watching "Born This Way, " specifically their duet as the inspiration point. I didn't want to wait any longer before posting another chapter. Thank you so much to all of you who decided to follow and/or favorite this story. It means the world to me, truly. Please feel free to leave any constructive criticism or ideas! _

**Between the Lines**

**Chapter 3**

I turned in bed and felt her nuzzle even closer into the crook of my neck. She instinctively draped her arm across my chest, as if she knew I was about to get out of bed. I looked at her, as my eyes adjusted to the darkness. I knew that Lea was still asleep; I could tell by the way she was breathing. I glanced over her shoulder to see the bedside clock. 2 o' clock in the morning. I sighed a little too loudly and felt her stirring. I didn't want to wake her but I couldn't help the nerves that were fluttering in my stomach. I took my hand and gently dragged my fingertips along her arm. I was half-hoping that it would soothe her back to sleep, half-hoping it would wake her up. Lea could tell what I meant by that simple motion, even in a semi-conscious state.

"Baby, what time is it?"

"Ohhh, it's still early. Shhhh. I'm just going to get some water."

but she knew that trick

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, really. I just..."

before I could even speak, her lips cut me off.

She always knew how to get my attention. She knew which type of kiss would be necessary for a specific situation. For example, this kiss was firm and insistent as if she was telling me, "Cut the crap, Dianna, and tell me what is bothering you." It worked like a charm every single time.

She broke off the kiss and just waited for me to speak.

"I'm worried about today."

"Okay. What are you worried about?"

"Well, we have our duet today. And i'm just concerned about it."

Even in the dark, she saw right through my ambiguous responses.

"Dianna, this duet is just amazing. You killed it in the studio. I heard your part as I was recording mine. Your voice was just so perfect. Honey, you have nothing to worry about."

"I know, but, this is the first time we are singing together. Do you know how nerve-wracking this has been for me? You have such a powerful voice and a ridiculous range. I just, i don't know..."

I turn away from her as i can feel the tears welling up. I know that I was being completely ludicrous but I couldn't change the fear that I had. I had to record first and I already knew that whatever Lea sang, she would always hit it out of the park. She just took her hand and lifted my chin back to her.

"Listen to me, Dianna. I would never lie to you. There is so much behind this mash-up. The dichotomies between the lyrics and our 2 characters- the fact this song that we sing together shows that Rachel and Quinn are not as different as everyone thinks. And, you captured that. I heard it, in the tone and inflection of your voice. I could feel Quinn's insecurities and her inadequacies..."

Then, she looked directly at me, to get me to focus on her words:

"I could feel your insecurities and inadequacies, baby. I know that you try so hard, Dianna. I see you struggle with it. "

And with that, I allowed the tears to fall, as she continued:

"I mean, it makes me upset too sometimes, when I read a line of Rachel's and it cuts close to the cloth. Everybody already assumes I am just like Rachel Berry, anyway. Right? It is when there are specific lines or lyrics in the songs that I identify with, that is when I feel the most like Rachel."

I nod my head slowly and she looks at me with so much love and understanding.

"The thing is, though, it that very thing that makes this duet and our characters work. When we bring a piece of ourselves to the table, when we take ourselves to that place we need to go to feel what our characters feel, that is when the magic happens, babe. And, I mean it when I tell you that is what I felt, hearing you sing. I felt your magic."

I can barely see her as my tears began to fall in earnest. How did she know that was exactly how I was feeling?

She closed the gap and captured my lips. This time, her kiss was soft and gentle and soothing. Lea could speak volumes with those lips.

If I didn't know it by then, I knew it after that.

I was so in love with Lea Michele Sarfati.

It was something that didn't surprise me- the realization of my love for her. I guess that it was something that just organically evolved from the first day I met her. The fact that she was a woman and I was woman did not deter my feelings. I never thought that I would be in this situation and at the same time I wondered why I never saw this as a possibility. I was blessed to be raised in a home where tolerance and acceptance were preached; to embrace the differences and to treat each person with respect. The acknowledgement of my love was not what scared me. It was wondering if she felt the exact same way about me. Just because I knew it, I hadn't told her yet. She had not said those three little words that mean so much either. It was this uncertainty that took root in my heart as we shot that duet, as if I wasn't feeling nervous enough.

Lea had an earlier call time then me and since I didn't sleep well, we didn't drive in together. In fact, when I woke up, she was already gone. But we would always leave a note and sure enough, mine was on top of my phone.

_Baby, I didn't want to wake you because you finally fell asleep. I cannot wait to see you and for us shoot our Faberry duet. Believe in yourself as much as I believe in you. xoxo- L (;_

I smiled at the "xoxo" part and her silly lil happy face she always puts at the end of each note. Like I said, she always knew what I needed to hear.

As I was driving to the Paramount lot, I popped in the CD of our duet. I had asked Adam if I could have a copy of our recording, so that I could practice lipsynching to my part. This was the first time I had listened to "I Feel Pretty/Unpretty" in its entirety and it blew me away. You never know how the song will sound in the end, after post-production and the magic that Adam makes with each song we sing. Our voices melded together to create this amazing mash-up.

I was actually glad to have this alone time, to compose, to prepare, but most of all, to anticipate our scenes. This was what were going to do all day. It was several shots in the whole performance and while it was whittled down to probably a 3 minute scene, including the dialogue leading up to the song, it took hours to get the blocking and coverage right. I probably wasn't going to see you until we were the Dr.'s waiting room.

I parked my car right next to yours and headed to my trailer, wondering what outfit Quinn would be wearing for the day. As I was pulling on the top, there was a knock on the door.

"You decent?"

"Come in, Nay."

"Good morning, Dianna. Is it really a good morning?'

I toss one of the pillows on my couch at her,

"Hey, hey, watch the hair. You don't even want to know how long I had to sit for hair & make-up today."

I groan and roll my eyes at her.

"Well, I guess that means that it is not."

"Not in the way that you think, Nay."

"Wanky."

"Listen, just because you and Heather have sex all the time doesn't mean that-"

"Whoa, whoa. Calm down, Queen Bee. I am just messing with you."

Naya came over and gave me a playful punch on the shoulder. Normally, I would be giving it right back to her, but I was not in the mood to banter about our sex lives. She could tell that there was something else on my mind.

"I know, I know. I didn't mean to over react. I just have a lot on my mind."


End file.
